Opinion column

Why is Christian unity so hard to achieve?

James Knight wonders why there is so much disagreement among Christians, and explains how this impedes the work of the Church.

Someone asked me the following question: If Christianity is true, why are there such a varied set of Christians who disagree and squabble about so many things? My response was that if all Christians sought the full truth without compromise, we would not see the ecclesia so full of division and disagreement.
 
The Biblical template certainly goes against our needless disagreements. In 1 Corinthians 1:10, St. Paul says: "I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought."
 
He doesn’t hold back; we are to be “perfectly united in mind and thought”, and in Philippians 2:2, Paul tells us we are to be “like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind." Consequently, Christian disagreement is a solecism against the credibility, harmony and reputation of the faith; and it is disagreement - both in factual propositions and ethical aberrations - that continues of be one of the biggest impediments to the spreading of the good news.
 
That raises the question - if the Bible, when correctly interpreted, provides clear guidance on how we should live, and if Christians have the Holy Spirit to offer deeper direction, why is it so difficult for those in relationship with the Creator of the universe to agree on a consistent and truthful understanding of reality?
 
I think the primary factor here is that when we judge anything based on God, we often assume that our understanding reflects God's own qualities. However, this is a two-way mirror. God provides us with principles to live by, but we also interpret those principles through our own proprietary perspectives. We put ourselves at the mercy of God’s judgement, and at the same time make judgements about the teachings in accordance with our own understanding and experience.
 
Sadly, religious people - Christians and the adherents to the false religions - are also susceptible to the sway of shaping their religion in accordance with their own incentives, needs and agendas. That's why those very varied personal trajectories throw up all sorts of religious personality, disagreements, conflicts and separations.
 
Ultimately, the way we perceive God and present ourselves to the world is shaped by a number of essential qualities; the depth of our intellectual and emotional engagement, the honesty and integrity we bring in to our relationship, our willingness to seek truth over comfort, our openness to correction and growth, our humility in recognising the limits of our own understanding, our willingness to love, and our willingness to put Christ first and make Him Lord of our life.
 
The more we can be “perfectly united in mind and thought” and “like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind." the better our impact can be on a world so desperately in need of a strong Christian message.

The image is courtesy of pixabay.com.

James Knight is a regular columnist for Christian community websites Network Norfolk and Network Ipswich. He also blogs regularly as The Philosophical Muser, including his Philosophical Muser You Tube channel, and contributes articles to UK think tanks The Adam Smith Institute and The Institute of Economic Affairs, as well as the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity (LICC). 

The views carried here are those of the author, not necessarily those of Network Norfolk, and are intended to stimulate constructive debate between website users.